Before we start, let me share some of my thoughts! My favourite singers from this season are the two from Na Ying’s team – Sun Bo Lun and Zhang Lei – so I definitely hope both of them will get into the Top 5. I don’t think they will disappoint me. The other three I would like to see would be Tan Xuanyuan, Bei Bei and perhaps, Li Xin Ni or Zhao Da Ge? Chances are Chen Zitong will make it through though, regardless of what I think. Tan Xuanyuan, Li Xin Ni and Li An got strong vocals but Li An has been underperforming in the past few episodes. Bei Bei, Zhao Da Ge and Chen Zitong got really good stage presence so that’s definitely a plus. Huang Yong is a true rockstar whereas Zhang Shu is a versatile singer.

According to Wikipedia, this is the format of this week’s show:
The order of appearance was decided through the drawing of lots by the coaches. In deciding who moves on, a professional judging panel made up of 27 veteran record producers and music critics, as well as the studio audience made up of 360 members of the public (including media practitioners from various media companies) were given an equal say. Each of the voters was entitled to one vote per artist, and they can either choose to vote or not vote for a particular artist. The total number of votes cast by the professional judging panel and studio audience were converted into points accordingly to the weightage (50% each). The five artists with the highest accumulated total points would advance to the finals.

The four judges start picking microphones to decide who will go first and Na Ying suggested picking according to their age. And Harlem, the oldest, went first, followed by Na Ying, Wang Feng and Jay. It’s pretty hard to imagine Harlem being the oldest because he seems to be the most playful one around haha. After the pick, Harlem is going first and he chose Zhao Da Ge. Second would be Jay who chose Chen Zitong and third is Wang Feng who picked Bei Bei and last but not least, Na Ying who sent Sun BoLun.

Contestant 1: Zhao Da Ge (Ika Zhao)Song: 蓝旗袍Comments: Oooh, a seductive voice. She reminds me of Ma Yinyin. She really looks much more mature than 19 years old. She got real sexy eyes that seems to capture you. But she (and all the other contestants) need to start changing clothes. It’s as if the production team is afraid that us audience won’t recognise them any more if they wear something different – I’m sure I saw her wore this outfit more than once on this show. I like how cute and young and at ease Da Ge is. She gives off positive vibes. The host, Hua Shao, pointed out that Harlem seems to have teary eyes and Harlem denied, claiming that “It’s common for old people to produce oil on their face and it’s not tears.” Hahahaha.Score: 81.3% [ 20 professional votes, 319 votes from members of public & media]

Contestant 2: Chen ZiTong (Queen T)Song: If I ain’t got youComments: No rap at all! I’m surprised! This is probably my favourite performance from her because I can finally appreciate it. Not that I’m very amazed by her vocals but it’s not too bad. Jay shared that he was thinking of what ‘weapons’ Zitong can brandish in this performance but she had requested to just sing a simple song where she can show her vocals. Zitong then shared that she made this choice because there have been a lot of critics that claimed that she couldn’t sing (Am I supposed to feel guilty now?) so she wanted to use this chance to show that she can sing and she love to sing.Score: 89.1% [ 23 professional votes, 335 votes from members of public & media]

Contestant 3: Bei BeiSong: 想念真好Comments: Bei Bei showed off her vocal prowess with this high pitch song which is quite different from her usual song choice. She started with a very clear and shining voice which slowly turned into this slightly raspy rock-ish voice. I think she controlled this song pretty well. And woah, I never realised her hair was so long. Jay invited Bei Bei to be a guest at his concert and Wang Feng agreed… but only after Bei Bei appears at his Shanghai concert. Na Ying shared that her stress level is increasing as the scores climb.Score: 81.9% [ 18 professional votes, 350 votes from members of public & media]

Contestant 4: Sun BolunSong: 忘记拥抱Comments: Go uncle! His soft and gentle voice is charming as usual. So in love with him. Na Ying shared that she is very happy to lend Bolun to Jay for his concert. Haha. Na Ying’s team from Season 1 to Season 4 are all here to show their support, including last season’s winner – Zhang Bichen.Score: 81.8% [ 21 professional votes, 309 votes from members of public & media] He’s in 3rd place as of now. What’s with the lack of votes from the media and member of public? I need to be there to vote for him too! I guess it’s because his song choice didn’t particularly overwhelm people and did not hype up the atmosphere as much. But I think that’s the best part of him – his soft, slow and gentle songs are done so well!

Contestant 5: Zhang ShuSong: 一个人Comments: I like her performance… until she broke into the funky/rock part. Her voice is very thick and comforting when she sings but her control of rock songs is not very well and she sounds pretty screechy. Not very appealing. Harlem pointed out that Zhang Shu can’t smile and shouldn’t smile because when she smiles, she looks angry HAHA. Harlem’s face doesn’t look very good throughout this whole performance.Score: 67.6% [ 13 professional votes, 313 votes from members of public & media] The lowest score for now. Not a very good sign. (But she still got more votes from the members of public than my dear Sun Bolun!!)

Contestant 6: Li Xin Ni (Gin Lee)Song: 秋意浓Comments: I think she suits more quiet songs that require her to be still and just sing her heart out instead of this song she chose. It seems like she is trying to be more seductive and flirty but Xin Ni is not suitable for that. She didn’t go all out and it’s a bit awkward. I can imagine Ma Yinyin or even Zhao Da Ge performing this rendition better than she did. This song was sang by Liu Ming Xiang from last season. Na Ying said that Jay and her are in an alliance but she has to say that if she had to choose, she would prefer Liu Ming Xiang’s version. The host then asked her if she’s saying this because she’s in an alliance or because she decided to break the alliance and Na Ying’s reply was “I said this because I’m in the alliance. But I can’t lie just because I’m in an alliance. You need to let me say some truth.” To which, the rest of judges replied, “Well, how worse would it be if you weren’t in an alliance.” Haha, but that’s the selling point of Na Ying – her (slightly brutal) honesty.Score: 64.6% [ 11 professional votes, 313 votes from members of public & media]

All the contestants who had performed are then invited back on stage. This is harsh but the contestant in the sixth place will be automatically eliminated. With that, we say goodbye to Xin Ni. Zitong cried as Xin Ni left the stage. Zhang Shu is in the current last place with a score of 67.6%.

Contestant 7: Huang YongSong: 沧浪之歌Comments: Hit my feels. Never really realised this before but his voice is very soothing and assuring. Even though his voice sounds torn up, it continues to give off a soothing feeling. I think he managed to control the emotions really well and it sucked me in. Na Ying shared that she thinks it was performed much better than the rehearsals. She had secretly peeked at their rehearsals after she heard Jay Chou doing it and realised she could do it too. Haha! So, is this what the sister-brother alliance is all about? Peeking at people? Hahaha.Score: 58.8% [ 7 professional votes, 331 votes from members of public & media]

Huang Yong is automatically eliminated while Bei Bei can’t control her tears. He’s damned by the professional votes. Apparently his song choice was a very hard one and that was probably why he only got 7 professional votes which caused his score to plunge.

Contestant 8: Zhang LeiSong: 寂寞是因为思念谁Comments: The last from Na Ying’s team! He, too, had left house for 13 years to go around singing while Sun Bolun had left his hometown for 11 years to wander and sing in Beijing. I guess I have a thing for all these ‘struggling singers’. I don’t know, I don’t think he sang extremely well but it felt as if he pulled at my heartstrings and I feel so sad watching his performance. I feel like crying too?!?! This had never happened to me. (Turns out one of the judges had the same sentiments as me!) It felt like he was telling a real sad story instead of singing. Na Ying smiled from the bottom of her heart after his performance was over. Na Ying put it in words very well – Zhang Lei can take any mainstream pop song and turn it into his own flavour. Zhang Shu, who’s at the fifth position, looks like she has resigned to fate and is preparing to leave the stage.Score: 94.6% [ 25 professional votes, 348 votes from members of public & media]

With that Zhang Lei climbed into the first position and Zhang Shu left. Zhang Shu is taking things into her stride and even comforted Da Ge and had even told her not to cry later even before they got on the stage. (Da Ge cried anyway.) Even though Zhang Shu left, she left with a great impression. Zhao Da Ge is now at the fifth place with a score of 81.3%. Whereas, Zhang Lei, Chen Zitong and Bei Bei have definitely secured a position in the Top 5.

Contestant 9: Tan XuanyuanSong: CarrieComments: Another singer I like, another wanderer. He got me with his first sentence. Clear, bright and full of confidence. Even his pronunciation of English seems to be not a problem at all! He completely let go and he doesn’t feel self-concious and mumbling any more. The strength in his voice is so charming and appealing! I love that burst of confidence. I don’t know what Harlem did to him but I love it. Tense, if Tan Xuanyuan stays, his fellow teammate, Zhao Da Ge, would have to leave the stage.Score: 85.8% [ 21 professional votes, 338 votes from members of public & media]

With that, Zhao Da Ge left this competition. This is the first time round the teammate of the losing contestant didn’t cry. With that, Tan Xuanyuan has also made it securely into the Top 5. My favourite uncle is now at the 5th position. Dangerous!! Sun Bolun has the lowest number of votes from the media and member of public as of now (why!?!). I always thought that his kind of songs is the most generic form of song and hence should be welcomed by the general public?

Contestant 10: Li An (Leon Lee)Song: 再回首Comments: I think he changed his style. This song is much more chinese-y and different from the westernish songs he used to sing. I feel that he doesn’t sound as good as usual because he loses that ‘special unique voice’ that I love about him. Gotta say that his voice is more stable and strong this time round though. And he belted out some really powerful notes right to the point. Jay nods at his performance. Seems like Jay is being really cool this time round, allowing his students to all change a performance style! Na Ying praised Li An’s performance but stopped herself from rambling on because his scores will directly affect Sun Bolun’s fate.Score: 84.2% [ 19 professional votes, 353 votes from members of public & media]

With that, Li An squeezed into the Top 5. I don’t especially appreciate his performance but I guess he did reach a breakthrough by breaking out of his ‘western’ mould and truly embrace the beauty of chinese music, as one of the professionals commented. He also got the highest votes from the audience, garnering 353 of the 360 votes. (Why? What was so good!?) And hence, my favourite uncle, Sun Bolun, who had sang the same type of songs all along, was eliminated. There was only a 0.1% difference in scores between him and Bei Bei who was in 5th place. So close! I feel so sad for him. I don’t think there’s anything wrong with him sticking to the same type of songs because if he can master it (which I think he is definitely capable of, if he already isn’t), that’s all he needs. I hope he gets discovered by the people in the music industry and manage to develop his passion into a profession!

Here’s the result of this episode:

Did your favourite singer made it to the Top 5? Who do you want to see win this competition? Watch Episode 12 of The Voice of China Season 4 here and leave a comment here to tell me what you think!

About Kate - skimmedmilkdrama

The name is Kate and the love is Show Luo. Permanently located behind the laptop blogging for skimmedmilkdrama.com and tweeting at @SMilkdrama. Obsessed over Taiwan variety shows & Mainland China reality shows. Likes to read Chinese novels in an attempt to look wise. Always ready to launch into discussion about Taiwanese and Chinese entertainment and dramas. RIP Kimi.

I honestly don’t know why Xing Ni’s score was so bad. It’s seems to me that it is like how Ma Yinyin was punished by singing with a different style. The so-called professionals/media really need to take a look at themselves and ask whether they just want one particular genre of music, or are they prepared to have variety. Credit to the top 5 (especially Zhang Lei who was magnificent), but I am disgusted by the way they have treated Ma Yinyin and Li Xing Ni.

I think the issue here is not that they selected a different style of singing but because they didn’t do well in their new choice. I’m sure if they had maintained their usual standards while performing a different genre, they would have gotten more votes than they did. It’s not that they should only stick to one style but maybe their change came a bit too late in the game – the stakes are much higher now.

To be honest, the best singer that night was Bei Bei and I was surprised that the so called professional judges gave her such low marks! She had great stage presence, delivery of the song was smooth, powerful, emotional and very engaging. The rest were just boring! I fill that there is still a bias towards Wang Feng from the music industry and definitely unfair to a talented singer like Bei Bei!
I only hope she chooses a song that is not a Wang Feng’s compilation at Bird Nest or else she will be punished again!!

Yeah, Bei Bei’s insistence on performing Wang Feng’s songs seems to not be a very popular decision amongst the media/music industry and I can see why this might be so – there’s not much point in developing a singer for her to become a female version of an existing singer. Still, I think this insistence is not completely bad and is part of Bei Bei’s selling point too. The audience probably love her for being so strong and ‘brave’.

Win or lose, Bei Bei is the most talented contestant to the grace the VOC stages!! Wish her the best of luck at Bird Nest and hope the so called media/music industry judges come to their senses and cast their votes base on the contestants’ vocal prowess and talent, not personality affairs!

If I thought ep 11 was biased this topped it hahahaha the media’s dislike for wang feng’s group is so obvious, especially for huang yong? even if he didn’t deserve to be in top 5 he DEFINITELY did not deserve to go home with the lowest score of the night. I’m not saying this as his fan because i don’t really appreciate rough voices and I didn’t really support him throughout the season but he really tugged at my heartstrings so much in that performance (i even rewatched it on youtube) and I cried so much when he got eliminated so unfairly. this season was a bust for wang feng, it’s so disappointing to see all of wang feng’s talented students go home one by one cruelly

Well, one could say that perhaps he didn’t deserve to be in the top 10 in the first place given that his victory in the previous round could have been influenced by Wang Feng’s rant. There are even rumours on other chat forums that Wang Feng actually lost 4-0 vs Harlem’s team, and that the only reason that Huang Yong eventually got through was because Wang Feng created a stink about the result and demanded that the judges/media reconsider.
Huang Yong was probably Wang Feng’s weakest singer out of his final 4. Huang Xiaoyun or Zhang Xinxin would probably have given a better performance. Nonetheless, we are all just left to wonder what might have happened. This season will remain forever tainted.